Craft brewer has reasons to be cheerful
Whitewater Brewing Company, the leading Northern Irish craft brewer, has secured a listing from Tesco Ireland that has led to its range of bottled craft beers, ales and stout going on sale throughout the Republic of Ireland.
The company's products are included within Tesco's World Craft Beers' section and are now on sale in over 70 stores throughout the Republic, a target market for the company. Whitewater is a longstanding supplier to Tesco in Northern Ireland.
The company, which has achieved SALSA quality accreditation, has also been listed recently by Ocado, the leading UK online retailer.
Whitewater recently secured a series of major awards for its products including its highly successful Belfast lager. The recognition included a silver medal in the prestigious International Beer Challenge in London for this product and two gold medals in the UK Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste Awards for stout brewed with roasted barley, rolled oats and chocolate malts and Clotworthy Dobbin, an ale made from malted barley with varied hops.
Bernard Sloan, Whitewater's managing director, says: "Winning the business with Tesco Ireland is an immensely important development for us in the Republic, a market which is becoming increasingly interested in craft beers, lagers and ales.
"The recognition from the International Beer Challenge and the UK Great Taste Awards are a marvellous endorsement of the quality and innovation that underpins our brewing processes and, of course, our range of products.
"The listing expands substantially our presence in the Republic and also positions us for growth in other markets, including the US, which are targeting and handling inquiries from potential representatives.
"A significant investment that we recently completed in our brewing, bottling and storage facilities enables us to respond quickly to the opportunities that we've identified in our target markets especially those outside Northern Ireland. We've seen considerable interest, for example, in our range from Europe. We've now got the capacity to turn this interest into firm orders."
In addition, Whitewater, which is based at Kilkeel in County Down in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, is assisting a new 'brewpub' project at Dicey Reilly's public house at Ballyshannon, County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.
Whitewater advised on the development and installation of a micro brewery at the pub, arranging and supervising the fabrication of brewing equipment for the pub, which plans to launch a Donegal Pale Ale later in the year.
Mr Sloan adds: "Our experience in the craft beer industry led the owners of Dicey Reilly's to approach us for advice, and we were delighted to help them with the project."